Murdering the Berry Bush
by Misleading Potato
Summary: This could be a story about a kid crazy enough to volunteer for a game where 23 children get slaughtered, but it isn't. So what's it about? It's about a whole group of children, perhaps all fixed on overthrowing the Capitol, they don't even notice that they themselves grow closer to a dark truth, and it all starts with one name: Spade Finislineae.
1. Prologue

20

…

19

…

The glowing timer atop the massive Cornucopia flashed between those two numbers and the world stopped. It stopped, with most of its people, as the boy fell off the tiny circle beneath his feet hitting the ground quite hard—but that wasn't what stopped everything. What created the motionless epidemic, was that he collided with the ground,

_and_

_nothing_

_happened._

:::

The kid in the front just couldn't stop shaking. His eyes were locked on the platform, or rather, the big glass bowl to the left, holding tiny slips of paper, and was located on the platform. He watched the bowl, almost desperately, as he waited impatiently for the mayor to end his speech.

Mr. Undersee did finish, much to the boy's relief, and an unnaturally purple woman replaced him on stage. "Wasn't that just wonderful?" Effie beamed. "What an exciting opening to this year's reaping. Now, before we begin, I'd like to announce your two mentors this year! They've been through many big, big, big things and are going to say a few words!"

The kid averted his eyes from the bowl immediately to glance up at the two people on stage that seemed to be far older than their ages let on. One of the two, a stoic girl with a long braid down her back, didn't say a word and grasped the hand of the tall and cheerful boy standing next to her. He spoke instead, and not only did he speak, he spoke well. He stated each word perfectly and his voice was not at all gruff like the ones of the others living in the district. But that wasn't what the boy was paying attention to, at all. The boy in front, though he only planned on taking a short and meaningless glance, was instantly glued to the sight of the girl who just kept quiet. He knew her. In fact, she was known to everybody in Panem. The girl he was looking at wasn't just District 12's only female mentor, she wasn't just the girl on fire, she was also, more importantly, District 12's first ever volunteer; something the little 12-year-old in front couldn't help but want to be.

The speech only lasted so long, and as the two former tributes stepped back, the boy just kept watching them from where he stood, until the girl's knowing grey eyes were unable to be seen past the terribly large bowl that his attention was focused on not long ago. The district escort was tauntingly and ever so slowly picking a name out of the other bowl while the boy, still dazed, felt a nudge.

"You really shouldn't do it" a voice from behind said nervously, "'Cause it's total suicide."

The words stuck in the air for a while after the boy, still in shock, swung back his arm to brush his friend off, only to feel nothing but the thick atmosphere those words left behind. He sighed and stared at his shoes. They were polished and clean but they felt wrong. Somehow… But there wasn't time for such nonsense thinking, because a purple hand was reaching into a large bowl filled with thousands of names—or rather, thousands of lives—25 of which, were his. So as the boy continued on staring hard at his shoes, a name was called out. A name that most definitely wasn't his.

"Rory Hawthorne!" Effie's bright eyes looked around in search of the small Seam boy. "Come up, don't be shy! Paige here is waiting to be your partner!" From the back of the stage the steely eyed mentor searched for her old hunting partner. When she found him, he was just like her and searching desperately for the boy. Eventually, Rory came out of the crowd, surprisingly close to where Spade was standing, wearing an expression similar to his brother's, an expression of pure terror and lost hope.

Effie was already reaching out to him and pulling him onto the stage while his brother remained one of the useless spectators. The kid we left at the front, who was looking at his shoes until around thirty seconds prior, wasn't paying attention to the long and desperate stares that the three childhood friends were giving each other across the town square. He was paying attention to the boy who filled his spot on stage. It wasn't a matter of 'if looks could kill' because at that moment his look most certainly could.

When Miss Trinket called for any volunteers, he could've gotten his shoes dirty. Because not only did he run to that platform, but he also yelled so hard his throat could have popped out and landed on his shiny shoes. But that didn't happen. Instead Effie, being the gracious escort she was, kept the show moving. Those that still had their eardrums intact could probably hear Effie letting Rory go and run into Gale's wide, open arms. They also would've probably heard Katniss and Peeta's bewildered conversation going on behind everyone. But nobody really needed functioning eardrums to hear his name being said.

"Spade Finislineae"


	2. Chapter 1

The name echoed through District 12's town square. From around the back of the platform, a pair of calculating grey eyes darted around to find the idiot who volunteered so casually. Instead, grey eyes met grey eyes as Gale looked up above the crowd. Katniss could recognize the relief in his eyes. Rory had been called and thanks to the "idiot" and whatever disease had convinced him that volunteering was something that brought you to a land of unicorns and sunshine, Rory was now racing down the steps to the crowd of boys and into his safety. Gale glanced at his brother then nodded his head in the direction of District 12's second ever volunteer. Katniss spotted him already at the front of the stage shaking hands enthusiastically with the nervous girl up there next to him.

_Young, _was the first thing Katniss noticed about him as he walked past her and Peeta into the Justice Building. _Arrogant, _was her next thought as he flashed a smile and a wink at Ms. Manners herself and one of the beefiest peacekeepers in all of Panem. Effie cringed at his audacity and very unsightly teeth. At the sight of her uncomfortable state, 'Spade' let out a disturbingly high-pitched, snort-filled laugh that made even the peacekeeper flinch. _Unstable, _floated through Katniss's head.

As the girl, Paige, and Spade disappeared into their respective visiting rooms, Katniss turned to Peeta.

"He's a fool!"

"I agree but—"

"What kind of self-destructive, mentally unstable, merchant's kid volunteers for the God-forsaken Hunger Games?"

"Would you rather have Rory go in?"

"… No, but throwing away all he's got for some mother—"

"Did you see his mother go visit him?"

Katniss looked at him. "Peeta, that isn't what that expression means. His mother has nothing to do with anything right now."

He sighed. "Are you sure? Just think about it Katniss."

"What is there to think about? He could've been a great shoe-maker just like his father and lived a normal life. Throwing it away for the Games is just proving his stupidity."

"How do you know his father?"

"Trading, Peeta; because living in the Seam, we have to find other ways of making a living."

"A merchant's life here in District 12 isn't all its cut out to be either."

"It's better than the Seam!"

"… I wouldn't say that. Just look at my family."

"Your family lives."

"My family is dysfunctional."

"Your family has enough money for you to only put your name in once. All you merchant families do! Then what does this kid do? He puts his name in over 14 times his first year! There are stacks of food by his house that his parents are _giving away._"

"It's not always about the money, Katniss! There is something us 'merchant' families don't have that—"

"You two," a slender purple finger pointed at them, "need to be on the train! Tardiness is absolutely not an option!" With a surprisingly strong grip, Effie grabbed the two bickering mentors and led them to the train.

***This is a line break! * Why are you reading this? * You should read the rest of the chapter. ***

Katniss and Peeta walked by a table of finely sorted alcoholic drinks while on their way to officially meet the tributes; though as soon as Katniss's eyes landed on the beautiful display, she stopped. The first time she had met Haymitch, he had been drinking some of that. Memories flooded her mind and the feeling of imminent death that usually came when entering the train dissipated and was replaced instead by a wave of loss.

Peeta grabbed her hand and gently nudged her towards the door. He knew what she was thinking about. The loss of Haymitch, despite him being terribly rude and drunk, had not escaped anyone's notice. This, and Katniss's brief speech during an interview, left most people feeling guilty for hating him so much; though some people would not dare feel all too guilty about it. He was doomed to live a terrible life anyway. And it wasn't like they were the ones who let him die. _"Yes, that's right, it wasn't us who let him die of electrocution and not find out until 2 hours later. That was Katniss." _It was true of course, so as that little mantra floated by every district in Panem, Katniss was left to wallow in the guilt that surrounded her here in District 12.

Whenever seeing a bottle of Haymitch's favorite booze, walking past his house in Victor's Village, and even now, reliving the memory of first meeting him here on the train, Katniss would stop cold. And Peeta, always there just in case, would help her out of the trance.

Hand already in his; he pulled at her like a child until she snapped out of the 'trance' and looked up at him. "I think the tributes are waiting."

Katniss opened her mouth to speak but Effie beat her to it. "That's right they are! Five minutes tardy for your introduction! Now go you two! No time for this mindless love talk! Go!"

"Mi-Mindless l-love what? I-I mean Effie that wasn't.."

Effie pushed open the door while Peeta stuttered for the first time in his life. Katniss watched with a faint smile on her face that faded when her eyes landed on the two sitting where she and Peeta did just two years ago.

"Finally. You two take forever. I'm Spade Finislineae." He reached out his hand for Katniss to shake. "I know who you two are but then again who in all of Panem doesn't? Do you have any tips on where to find them? What can get rid of them? You should tell me. It's my dream after all. Would you not help a child with their dream? That's rude. Did you hear that Paige? They won't help me. That makes me sad. PAAAAAAIIIIIIIGEEEEEEE! Can you not hear me at that volume?" Spade took a deep breath. "PAAAAAAAAIIII—"

"I can hear you, Spade."

Spade's jaw dropped to the ground. He sat there in awe looking from the quiet girl next to him to the three people at the door. "Pai-PAAAAIIIIIIGYYYY just talked! Did you guys—" He stopped when he saw the cold stares aimed at him from around the room.

Whispers were exchanged between the tributes and soon Spade understood. "So you didn't say you wouldn't so you will? That's amazing! I can finally show everyone in Panem what the Capitol has been hiding from them! There will be justice served!"

Peeta looked at him incredulously. "I'm sorry. Come again?"

Another whisper was softly spoken into Spade's ear. "Oh." He smiled. "I didn't explain. I'm going to show all of Panem what the Capitol never shows during the games. What the viewers never get to see because the Capitol throws it all out and tells them it isn't something important. But I know what it really is. It's so important I can't believe the Capitol _doesn't _show it!"

Peeta and Effie simultaneously cocked their heads to the side. Katniss raised her eyebrow. _Rebellious, _Katniss noted. _He's perfect._

"What was that you had in mind?" Peeta noticed her sudden interest in the young boy and caught on to what she was thinking.

"Katniss," he started, "I don't think he's thinking what you're think—"

"I want to kill a nightlock bush in the arena," he paused, "by using the powers of HUMAN WASTE! Catching that on tape and having it broadcasted all over Panem would be so rebellious!" He struck his fist in the air and waited for the applause. He instead got silence from a shocked crowd. Seeing the stares from around the room, he grinned. "Was that too much rebellion for you to handle?" Paige snickered, Effie looked horrified, and Peeta chuckled and watched as Katniss stood there dumbfounded.

_Psychotic._


	3. Chapter 2

Peeta furrowed his brows. "So you want to..?"

"Pee in the arena—killing a vicious plant in the process—and show Panem what the Capitol has been keeping from them! The scary truth of how tributes use the bathroom!" Spade looked almost heroic as he stood atop his bed, telling tales of "righting a great wrong".

Peeta sighed. After all the throwing, yelling, and pure fits of rage that broke out after the announcement of Spade's 'dream', the two tributes had retreated to their temporary living quarters, leaving a fuming Katniss in the trashed room. So now here they were; Peeta attempting to understand a bit more about Spade, and Katniss completely blowing off the job of 'mentor' until she feels that the task at hand is of importance to her.

***Yes I know that Fanfiction provides this but this is my story and I happen to like my line breaks***

The two tributes marveled at the sight of Capitol and its people that lay waiting for them from outside the train. Their eyes glinted with excitement—or in Paige's case, anxiety—on their way to prepare for their debut in the Capitol.

"He's so eager," Peeta said worriedly, "like he wants to enter the game now."

Katniss stopped and looked at the concern in his eyes, then chuckled. "Do you not remember yourself looking exactly like that two years ago?"

"Katniss, what are you talking about? I didn't…" He trailed off as if realizing something. "You remember what I was like two years ago? Aww, Katniss does this mean you noticed me? Katniss!"

"Peeta, you were just good at not showing your emotions so I had to observe…" When Katniss realized she was now talking to the back of a very tall tribute's head, she sighed and went to look for the rest of her little group. As they finally came into her line of vision, a familiar pair of murderous dark eyes stared at her from across the room. It was then that her head started pounding and her vision faltered. She grabbed her head but kept her gaze so when the attack on her nerves subsided, the vicious stare had her hand involuntarily reaching towards her back as if she were to grab an arrow and load her bow. It was only as the tall tribute came back and blocked her view did she shake out of her reflexive trance.

She looked forward again in attempt to get another look at the tribute but a dull ache in her head had her stopping dead. Taking a deep breath, Katniss carefully looked back up again and found that not only had she lost sight of the tribute but the dysfunctional bunch she was originally looking for. She sighed and searched once more for them.

"Katniss" A voice called out to her.

She spun around and tried to locate the voice that now seemed to come from a hundred different places. Then suddenly there was a foot, the floor, a few stars, and a firm hand to keep her from falling. Her head throbbed and she couldn't see much, but from what seemed to be a distance she heard chuckling and the line, "For someone who survived the Hunger Games, you sure are uncoordinated" before everything went black.

***Blackout * Line break * Whatever it is I think right now I'm using it to represent a time lapse ***

_Running. She could barely breathe, but it was so close. And Peeta, he was sick. So for now she had to keep—SLASH. A knife whizzed past her face and planted itself into the ground next to her. When she looked up to see who the assailant was, Clove's small figure was already tackling her to the ground. In that moment Katniss peered into Clove's eyes and saw the chilling familiarity of the dark orbs. It was her; Clove was most definitely alive._

Katniss opened her eyes to the sight of two smiling idiots watching her wake up. "Katniss," the tall one spoke, "You're awake! You missed so much! The tribute parade was amazing! Cinna just managed to wow all of Panem for the third time in a row with completely different costumes! There was the most amazing…" He chattered on but Katniss's mind was elsewhere.

She groaned and rose slightly from the comfortable, feather-filled, Capitol-provided pillow. She had to talk to Peeta about so much but her condition must have been worse than she thought because suddenly the lights were too bright, Peeta was too loud, and an oncoming headache was threatening to have her step into the wonderful world of unconsciousness. She clutched her head and thanked the Gods that Spade had the decency to shut up while she was just waking up. Wait. Spade was here because..?

"I'm here to keep Peeta company while you slept! Great idea, huh?" Katniss looked at him in disbelief. Mind reader or? "It was a lucky guess," Spade smiled. She eyed him for a while until Peeta finally realized nobody in the room was listening to him.

Peeta sighed and gave up all hope of explaining the wonders of tribute costumes. Instead, he tried to explain to the incredulous girl what she still didn't see. "Katniss your face says it all. The stoic thing disappeared from your face just now."

She replaced her shock under the apparently infamous 'stoic thing' and scowled at Peeta. "Just tell me what happened."

"Well, the parade went wonderfully. There were a few nasty glances pointed our way but that's normal. Cinna did amazingly and—"

"The nurses said the train travel and the shock from seeing such a young volunteer," Spade winked, "had you feeling 'under the weather'."

"For a twelve-year-old you're a real smart—"

"Katniss Everdeen, how are you feeling?" A nurse's voice rang out into the room.

All three heads in the room faced the capitol nurse in surprise. "Uhh… I'm fine."

"Do you need anything?"

"No?"

"Good. Buzz if you need anything at all." She flashed a perfectly shiny Capitol-brand plastic smile their way and briskly made her way through the exit.

"Wait but how long does she have to…" Peeta's voice faded as he followed the nurse through the hall.

Katniss glared at the door. Peeta didn't know it yet but he was going to pay for leaving her with the 'troubled' kid.

"You can't burn through the door with your eyes you know."

Katniss snapped her head in his direction. She eyed him and after a while decided that trying her hardest to crack this 'special case' would be best left for a day when he wasn't looking so ecstatic. She tried instead to get the actual useful information from him that she would never (at least not in this life) get from Peeta.

"For the sake of your ears and my mental stability, I'll pretend you didn't say that." Spade nodded like he completely understood. Katniss shook her head and continued. "So I assume you're going to start training soon?"

"I already started silly. I'm two days in and it's amazing! There's this one girl who has fishing hooks in her hands and this one guy who's like eight feet tall and then there's Mar—this one guy who's so smart—who hates me completely." Spade took a breath as it dawned on Katniss what he said.

"I missed three days." Katniss murmured and stood up from the hospital bed. "I'm going to find Effie," she thought for a moment, "or Cinna. No, wait." She turned to Spade. "What do you do exactly?"

He gave her a questioning look. "Since when did you actually want to know?"

_The one time the kid keeps his mouth shut. _Katniss sighed. "I honestly don't care about whatever demented 'dream' you have but I need you or Paige—both if that was possible—to come out alive. So what, if anything, can you do to survive?"

"…I can eat and I have hands." Spade smiled brightly.

"I'll go find Cinna."

***Lalalala * I won't speak of my ***cough*** awesome ***cough*** line breaks this time. * I promise ***

Katniss gave them both a questioning look. "What've they even been working on? Do they have any skills at all? Either one of them?"

"They're good enough to receive at least a seven on the assessment and they're still improving. They'll be okay." Cinna assured.

"And we're working on it." Peeta added. "Didn't Spade tell you about the many things they've been doing during training?"

"He told me of the many 'friends' he's made during training." Katniss said sarcastically.

"Well, Spade is also getting really good at finding plants and using what they call a bayonet. It's so old but it works like a sword and you put it on the end of a really old gun that Spade can't pick up yet but it's a work in progress right?" Peeta smiled hopefully.

"What is a centuries-old weapon going to do in the Hunger Games? Peeta, these things are useless. What are they going to use for their assessment?" Katniss sighed, frustrated. "We need these children alive and ready. Something, I don't know what, is going to change. I've been thinking about some weird things lately that make no sense. The headache, for one, wasn't caused by what the nurses said. I've been here back and forth for two years and it's never happened. And the district seven boy, he looks exactly like Clove!" Katniss's voice dropped to a whisper. "There's even been talk of how what Spade's been saying has the Capitol infuriated. The rebellion and stuff you know?"

Peeta looked slightly worried, be it for her mental health or for something else, but he continued. "Katniss, you've been in the hospital for a long time and with the Capitol, you never know if it's morphling or tracker-jacker venom they put in you. I wouldn't overthink this too much. Maybe there is a striking resemblance between Clove and district seven's boy. Maybe you were too frustrated with Spade you passed out. Maybe the talk means nothing at all." Katniss looked at him skeptically but he continued. "Whatever the situation may be, it isn't coherent right now. Let's just concentrate on the matter at hand because you were right." Katniss looked up at hearing those words. "Paige and Spade, they need to be ready for what's coming. The old battle gear is a sign that this isn't a normal game."

"Obviously" Katniss muttered.

"Peeta's right." Cinna agreed. "We'll just focus on what matters in the now. And if it really bothers you, I'll investigate." He put his hand on her shoulder and winked reassuringly. She sighed in response. "I'll order some lamb stew with dried plums for us to eat." He stood up, walked past the mahogany table, and said before leaving, "That's Spade's favorite too."

Katniss tried scowling back at the cryptic man but the door was shut and she was left to look blankly at the young man sitting across from her.

Deciding what to do, Peeta grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Katniss was caught unaware which had him almost dragging her out of the room.

"What are you doing?"

Peeta smiled. "Seeing as you have not yet mentored before, I've taken this opportunity to have you do that now."

***Is it just me or is this chapter a really bad filler with a lot of line breaks? * It's not only me, right?! ***

After half an hour of having Katniss claim that she really had to go back into the hospital room because she "suddenly had a severe headache", Peeta had successfully brought her to the patiently waiting tributes' rooms where she and him discussed strategy with the young people. Five hours and thirty fits of rage later, they had gotten past talking about Spade's issues and Paige's timid personality. Yes, they were ready for the assessment. And when it came, there was close to no surprise to the scores they got…

"_District 1; Amaryllia, with a score of," Caesar paused for effect, "10!"_

Spade clapped and cheered loudly. "She was amazing during training! It's a wonder how she didn't get a score like you Katniss." He looked up at her and gave a pert smile.

"She'll kill you in the Games if you have an attitude like that," Katniss spoke, "before you can even make it to your stupid bush."

"Manners!" Effie scolded. "Only use positive language when speaking to those who'll not live the luxury of life for long." She said, as if her comment wasn't worse than Katniss's.

Spade smiled fondly at the two. "I didn't know you cared!" Spade gushed. He leaned in to embrace Effie, but she trotted out of the way, leaving Katniss to receive it. Katniss tried prying him off, but the attempt was futile. She patted him lightly on the back, almost cracking a smile at the oddity of the moment, but stopped when she heard him whisper into her shoulder. "I have a plan," he says, "and I'll get to that bush if it kills me."

The sincerity of his voice made Katniss shiver. He was amazingly complex and had Katniss confused. Was this whole 'pee in a plant' thing to show up the Capitol? Or was it just for his liking? She couldn't really think at this point because Peeta quickly had him sitting down and listening to the tribute scores.

Spade clapped for all the rest of the tributes and gave a standing ovation to the lowest score, a two, given to the male district three tribute.

Then came district eleven's male tribute. Tall, dark skinned, _a very familiar back of the head_ Katniss noted, and to Peeta, unusually familiar blue eyes. He stared into the screen, almost like a trance, until Caesar's voice reminded him of his surroundings. Noticing he was leaning forward, Peeta inched back coolly.

"_District eleven; Garner , with a score of nine!" _Spade applauded once again but Peeta was too lost in thought to care anymore. _Garner isn't his name. _Peeta thought. _No_, he thought, _it's—_

"_District twelve; Paige, with a score of six_!" Peeta looked up at the sound of Caesar's voice.

"A six?" Katniss looked to Cinna. "But you said—"

Cinna cut her off. "Some things in life cannot be guaranteed."

Peeta gave his attention back to the screen. At this point, he knew Katniss was right about the 'weird things', but to preserve her mentality, he had to keep quiet for now. When Spade turned to him, he acted completely normal.

"_From district twelve; Spade, with a score of," _Caesar paused again, "_eight!" _Everyone with the exception of Spade breathed a sigh of relief.

"I knew it. I told you guys I'd do amazingly. Didn't I Paige?" He smiled triumphantly as Paige nodded.

"Yeah that's what you said," started Katniss, "but you didn't tell us anything else."

Spade gasped. "That would've been against the rules! I'm sworn to secrecy! I shall tell no one of what I did in there! You should know! You've been in this position twice already!" He looked panicked.

"Calm down," Cinna said, "We just want to know how you managed such a score. With the lack of," he cleared his throat, "uh, training you have, it's amazing how you received an eight. Care to share now?"

"Nope. But you'll see," he smiled mischievously, "in the arena."


	4. Chapter 3

"Answer as honesty as possible," she told him, "especially if what you have to say is horrible." Cinna smiled from behind her.

"That's a far cry from, 'Don't do anything stupid.'" Spade noted. "Have you changed your mind after seeing how poorly having a strategy works? I mean, did you see Caesar? He's completely destroying all of their arguments." He gave a small laugh, "And their self-confidence."

"He's so different." Peeta interjected. "Uh, from last year I mean. Before, it was almost as if he wanted to help." He looked onto the stage where Paige was practically cowering in fear at Caesar and each seemingly harmless comment he inflicted onto her. "Now it's like the opposite."

"You two make it sound like he's a completely different person." Spade said. "But I think the only thing that changed was his hair."

"Well, it's not like anything can change now. Your interview is about to start. Just remember what I said." Katniss nudged him toward the stage.

"Are you referring to the line, 'Don't be stupid'?"

"Now we bring in an _interesting_ tribute, Spade Finislineae!" Caesar called.

Spade strode onto the stage just as he heard that. Katniss shook her head and smiled. "I might be worrying about all the wrong things when it comes to that kid." She turned, expecting to find Peeta behind her.

The person standing in Peeta's place spoke. "As a mentor, I thought you'd be watching the screens like a hawk. Are you looking for Panini?" He laughed and poked her nose. "Hey, you seem to be in a daze. Can you not think? What a waste. I thought it might've been more than just luck and good looks that won you two games."

Katniss shook out of her shock. "Excuse me?" Katniss snarled.

"Oh. Is this emotion?" The District four tribute who came up behind her competitor said. "Well getting a rise out of her was easier than I expected. C'mon Mar, we've got places we shouldn't be and people I don't want to see." She walked away with Mar, leaving Katniss quite confused.

Paige tapped Katniss's shoulder. "That was Mar and Cascade from District four. They're 'sizing you up' so to speak." She paused and lowered her voice. "I think they have a sort of grudge against you. I heard in the training room that they looked up to Finnick and you know… Last year in the games he... Well…"

"I get it." A wave of memories and guilt came over Katniss. "I get it." She looked at Paige. "Have you seen Peeta?" Unfortunately, that question was left unanswered because it seemed Paige's attention was focused elsewhere. She was turned towards the screen showing the stage and when Katniss turned toward it too, her jaw dropped.

On stage, sometime while she wasn't looking, Spade managed to turn the entire interview around. Literally. Caesar was the one who was now cowering in fear at the young tribute sitting in his chair saying and asking all the things that have probably never reached the audience's ears.

"Showers? Rose scented soap? What a girly man. Did you have fun messing with Peeta and smelling him like that?" He hopped off the chair and leaned really close to Caesar's face. He inhaled deeply and looked straight into Caesar's artificially colored eyes. Caesar flinched. "You don't smell like roses at all." whispered Spade. "In fact," He turned to the audience, "he seems more like a lavender lad to me." The crowd roared.

Backstage, even some of the careers were laughing. Katniss was watching the whole thing from where she was standing and she couldn't help but think that if Haymitch were there, he's smile. _ Haymitch…_ She smiled. _I could just imagine his reaction._

"_Nice one, Sweetheart."_ He'd say. A smile made its way onto Katniss's face.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Spade laughed as he came up behind her.

"Do _you_ enjoy being slaughtered by the Capitol?" She glanced at his face as she said that, and not to her surprise, his expression didn't change. "Let's go."

On the way to the penthouse the 'lucky' District 12 tributes got to lounge in, Spade was receiving all kinds of different reactions to the show he put on. Some of the tributes who seemed to have resented the Games or just the Capitol in general looked to Spade in awe, admiring the continuous 'rebellious behavior' he had. Others, much like Amaryllia, sent him a few daggers that Spade's overwhelming self-confidence seemed to block.

When they finally got to their floor, Spade walked straight to his room. "Where are you going? Dinner tonight might just keep you alive tomorrow!" Peeta called. He came to the room right as Spade closed the door. "What are you doing?"

"I don't think _he's _the one that needs interrogating Peeta." Katniss called. Peeta ignored her.

"I can't." Spade croaked from inside the room.

"Can't what? Are you dying? Don't die! Not now! You still have a bush to pee in!" Peeta desperately banged on the door. "What kind of indestructible Capitol brand wood is this?" he muttered as he tried to forcibly break open the door.

"Peeta, no! If you let me out I think I'll die…" Spade took a forced breath from inside, "of excitement."

The banging on the door abruptly stopped. "I think I'm going to my room." A defeated Peeta walked to his room after politely asking the nearby Avox for a few aspirins.

"I'm going to turn in too." Katniss said after grabbing a few cheese buns. "Be ready." She called out to whoever cared. "Tomorrow's gonna be 'a big big big day!'" Katniss mocked.

"I don't disagree. And although you're aggravating me, I'm smiling, see?" Effie smiled a very realistic smile at the two still left in the room. "Well beauty sleep is so very important. You may not have noticed being around so many gorgeous people Cinna, but beautiful people are like pearls. They need time to rest up and turn from coal into the beautiful things they are!" And with that pile of false information, she trotted off into her room.

Paige looked up at Cinna. "I thought that diamonds—"

"They do." He said knowingly. "It's best if you just go with what she says." Paige nodded. "How about we not waste this food? I hear the lamb stew is delicious."

***The line breaks have returned. * Although it's such a shame…* The chapter's almost over.***

"If you don't find something absolutely necessary in the cornucopia, run as far as possible to the nearest water source. Try and well, uh…" Katniss tried her best repeating the advice Haymitch gave her, thinking it had to have some sort of value if it kept her alive.

"Stay alive." Peeta finished.

"Yeah." Katniss stared at the massive hovercraft that was to take the tributes to the arena. "Well. You should go. Paige, stick to Spade and become his ally until that doesn't work anymore. And Spade," Katniss looked at him seriously, "try not piss off the Capitol more than you already have okay?"

"I'll take that as a 'good luck'?" Spade smiled. "Well, here I go." he whispered to no one in particular. He took Paige's hand and quickly boarded the hovercraft.

When the door closed and the mentors that all sent their tributes off couldn't see inside anymore, Spade went berserk. It wasn't necessarily a mad storm he was creating, but more of the excitement he tried to contain the night before. Paige calmed him down enough to sit in his seat, but things changed when they brought out the needles.

Garner, a District six tribute named Ave, and the Clove look alike yawned as if they'd been through all of it before. Mar bit his lip and looked away while his district partner Cascade looked at the needle and smiled. Others did what Amaryllia did and watched the needle go in, trying not to make any changes in their expressions. Spade was, to say the least, different in his reaction to the needle.

"Why is the needle so thick? Can't you guys make a smaller tracker if you're so advanced? I mean, I actually don't want to insult you guys. I'm just asking questions. You see, I have some…" his voice dropped to a whisper, "issues." Spade roared with laughter. He started kicking the restraints and laughed even harder. "Your security measures are hilarious; even going as far as to block out the windows. Do you think we can tell anybody where the arena is? We'll all die anyway! I think—"

And it all went black.


	5. Chapter 4

**This 'chapter' (it may not be considered one to some people) is just a series of shorts (****might be a lie because some of them are long) describing scenes that were unseen to the public eye when they happened. But don't think they are UN-important, because they sort of are… Enjoy…? (Most of these are going all the way back to the beginning of the story so reread if you need to)**

**:::**

The day of the reaping-

There would probably be bruises on his arms from the rough way the two Peacekeepers dragged him but all that wasn't relevant to the situation at hand. A heavy door was opened and he was shoved in. In contrast to the fluorescent rays of light that streamed in through the clouds in the outside world, the small room seemed so dark and sad. Ironically, the boy that lay on the couch across from the heavy door was perfectly cheery and in fact a bit elated towards the situation. The figure almost crushed by the closing door was feeling, to say the least, different about the whole thing.

He looked at the boy on the couch's satisfied smirk and grit his teeth. "Don't smile like that, weirdo." He got up, dusted off his pants, and sighed. "Didn't I tell you before _not _to do it?" There was no response. "I should've guessed. Not listening again? You have issues." He paused and waited for a snappy comeback. There was still no response. "You know, you lied about it too. You said you wouldn't do it! You can't just say one thing and do another! God, Spade. You're insane!" He inhaled deeply and prepared to say more until Spade, who was still lying down on the couch, decided to say something.

"Finally questioning my _in_sanity? And here I thought you hadn't noticed." The boy in the corner stopped breathing like an idiot and looked up. "Don't just stand there stupid." Spade motioned for him to sit in the spot his legs used to be occupying. "You realize they're pulling you out of here in like, three minutes right? Or did you not plan on staying to say a long and meaningful goodbye?"

The boy, who Spade realized quite a while ago was the same one who left him to stare at his shoes during the reaping a few minutes ago, was slowly walking up to him. He staggered while doing so, there was probably an injury from the violent way the two Peacekeepers lugged him around the hallway. Spade either didn't care or just didn't notice because he just watched as the thin Seam kid dragged his corpse of a leg to the seat.

"Take your time." He mumbled.

"It would help if you, I don't know, helped?" He raised his voice and gestured at his injured leg.

"Why? You're like, two steps away anyhow. Do I have to waste more time getting up and helping you? See? Now there's like, even less time!" Spade got up, for dramatic effect or to help (the world may never know) only to realize his friend had already sat down. "… Got up for nothing…" Spade muttered.

"You shouldn't even be complaining!" Not really having the fact that he was injured sink in, the boy put pressure on his foot, attempting to stand, only to meet the ugly truth on the floor where his head now lay.

"Ooh! So when Gustopher here finally gets a backbone he crumples to the floor? What an interesting development." Spade peered at Gustopher's _interesting _position on the floor and laughed a slightly demonic, full bellied laugh.

The once far away footsteps came closer to the door. Gustopher stopped rolling around in pain and sat up abruptly. "Okay. Whatever. I'll just tell you what I needed to say. Spade, you have an option here, a way out of all this," he waved his hands, "that you brought upon yourself. You can only get it if you manage to sneak out during the rest of the visiting time and meet up with a blonde man that's waiting outside of this building to talk to you. He can help you and the all the districts! All you have to do is cooperate." The footsteps behind the door stopped as if waiting to hear more and Gustopher's breathing hitched. He lowered his voice but kept talking when he realized the Peacekeepers who stopped were only halting to talk to (or flirt with) a young girl that walked by.

"The districts are planning a revolt," he continued, "the Capitol hasn't called for civil war after the failed coup last year because they know that if all the districts band together we're unstoppable! Now is the perfect time to stage another one; while they're all sitting ducks!" Gustopher waited for a reaction and didn't get one. "Don't believe me? Spade, I'm serious this time. You can get out of all of this! If you don't, I think you might just die in the Games." Spade remained expressionless.

During that unusually serious staring contest, the two Peacekeepers opened the doors and grabbed Gustopher by his arms. "Time's up," a stern and coarse voice said from where a person's head _should have _been inside the Peacekeeper's suit. Gustopher went along without a fight but before they reached the door, he looked up, clenched his fists, and hurled an object straight at Spade's head. The Peacekeepers, who were too busy trying to look official in front of the wandering eyes outside of the small room, didn't notice the action and left the door to close on its own.

Spade took the projectile Gustopher threw at him off the floor. "You almost missed!" He shouted at the door. "I'm keeping this by the way!" He glared at the door one last time then moved his attention towards the object in his hands. The thing was yellow and squishy. It had eyes, but wasn't (and was probably never) alive. It had feet, but couldn't walk. "Gustopher!" Spade yelled, though he knew he was long gone, "If this is a voo-doo doll, I'm using it on you!"

:::

Second day of tribute training-

_THUMP_ A knife whizzed past Spade's head, nearly giving his messy blonde hair a buzz cut. "You missed terribly!" Spade yelled to the small District seven boy throwing knives at him. "How're you possibly going to survive with aim like that!" he criticized. The Game Makers at the observing the tributes from above carefully moved their attention from the three at the swords to the two bantering back and forth.

"Do you want to die? I promise I won't miss this time." The boy smiled, but a stern look from the Peacekeepers keeping watch stopped him from actually doing anything.

"Try me!" Challenged Spade. He picked the stray knife from the wall behind him and gripped it the way he had seen Fale, the same boy who was throwing knives at him now, hold it. It had an awkward handle, as if it wasn't exactly for throwing but it didn't matter.

Spade pulled his hand back, nearly making contact with Paige's forehead, and threw it. Garner, who before was standing in the corner by Ave, made a move towards Spade. It was too late though, because at that moment, the knife went flying, narrowly missing Fale's shoulder. If he hadn't moved so cat-like and landed so well, surely it would've landed where it was intended.

Fale glared while Spade was still in a state of excited shock. "You're going to get it." Fale barked. His short legs launched him surprisingly far and he landed on top of Spade. He took a hidden blade out of shirt and held it at Spade's throat. "Try that again." Spade reached around for any sort of weapon, almost taking that dare.

A dark hand appeared on Fale's shoulder and roughly pulled him up. The owner of that dark hand, apparently Garner, muttered something to Fale and took him to the rifles to watch Ave practice. Garner turned back and with the most concern filled blue eyes, mouthed, "Do you need ice?"

"No I'm okay." Spade said quite loudly. "What about you, Mar? That was some pretty intense stuff. Did you fear for my life?" Spade asked. He grinned and leaned up against Mar's turned back.

Mar flinched in reaction. "Don't pretend you know me!" Mar grabbed Cascade, who was pretending to admire a gun that was very old-fashioned compared to the ones the Peacekeepers were holding, and stormed towards a different station. The gun fell and Cascade's hand motioned to move over the other, only to find something missing. She shook her head and stood with Mar at a big machine with a spear sticking out of it.

"Touchy?" asked Spade. He was directing the question to Paige and was waiting for an answer. Only when she tapped his shoulder did he realize that they were supposed to gather around the instructor to hear what their lesson was. Spade wanted to motion to Fale to come sit with him, as a gesture of forgiveness, but he was off in La-la land bragging to others about his skills with a blade.

Fale was indeed, showing off to some other careers about his impeccable aim, but not for the reasons they thought. Listening to the conversations, it seemed more like he was making friendly banter that, if they were watching, the Game Makers would've found as odd as that same boy running his fingers through his hair, which he didn't seem to remember was only about an inch long.

Maybe the Game Makers would've noticed the other, broader, tribute standing next to Fale with his unnatural blue eyes staring across the room at a career who was absorbed in the archery station. Maybe they would have noticed the small but certainly not invisible camera that a less than usual Avox had place on the wall beside them. Maybe they _wouldn't _have noticed these things for a bit more if it hadn't been for the harmless Avox that let a few words slip.

Spade rolled his eyes, unaware of the chaos on the balcony, and mumbled something about functional ears being completely useless. Paige paid careful attention to the tutorial on poisonous water found in small murky puddles but Spade's mind was elsewhere. She pulled on his sleeve, already predicting he would drink this water if he found it.

Spade looked around the room. Across the circle, Mar was smiling a real smile and Cascade, who was usually closed off, was even laughing a bit. The two were very similar to Finnick in the way they showed emotion; they just didn't. Which is why Spade came to the conclusion that they were very attached to the late victor. He understood why they felt the need to pick on District twelve entirely; the fiery tempered Mar probably more than Cascade.

By the end of the day that Spade spent "people-watching"; he had seen through every single one of the tributes, deciding who to ally with in the Games. After telling Paige, she told Spade to run it by Peeta and Cinna beforehand, so that they didn't have to have a repeat of what happened on the train.

She looked nervous about it besides the fact and so he took the ends of her braids in his fingertips. "Paige—y," he lengthened the y sound and yanked lightly on her braid. "It'll be fine. You worry too much, geez." Paige looked up and tightened the ribbon in her hair. She nodded and went over the plan with Peeta and Cinna.

Mar and Cascade, they decided, were the best ones to team with, being that they seemed to balance each other out and were the friendliest of the Careers. Though because getting them to side with Spade, and ignore what other problems they had with him, may be the only thing stopping the whole alliance, there had to be more people with them.

This brought them to the idea of bringing in Garner, along with the rest of his "crew"—meaning Ave, Fale, and the District three male, Orel. Though he seemed to be the nicest out of all the tributes, his blue eyes didn't match with his dark, District 11 skin, and he always averted them when speaking to anyone other than Ave, Orel or Fale, making him extremely suspicious. Though Spade didn't seem to mind as he watched the closeness of the four and realized that others didn't want to be crowded around him, not even his own district partner, because everybody knew he was being carefully and not-so-subtly watched by the Game Makers. This made Spade like him more.

Ave, they thought, was standing with Garner for the protection he provided. However, that wasn't the case when they saw her at the rifle station, shooting down targets from across the room. Her drug induced bloodshot eyes and disheveled appearance made her seem like the one most vulnerable but her careful precision while her finger was at the trigger nearly shadowed Garner's beheading of dummies at the next station. She would stare at the practice dummies with perfect precision and concentration before her finger moved ever the slightest and a bullet bore itself into the wooden skull over a hundred feet away.

Fale was also a questionable presence in the group, as he could most likely win the Games with just a knife. His dark, evil eyes darted to and fro, in a menacing manner, looking as if with one blink, there would already be one of his knives piercing through your ribcage. Besides the fact, all four hovered around each other, seeming to have known each other for a while.

Those that weren't exactly the best to ally with were, if it wasn't obvious, everybody else. The twelve of the tributes that weren't careers didn't get very high scores anyway and seemed to be hanging around each other, for lack of a better choice. The four Careers from Districts one and two were so tightly packed together that they couldn't have possibly allied with them anyway. Amaryllia, the one that gave the impression that she was in control of the Careers, was too determined and seemed to want to bomb the entirety of District twelve by herself.

Peeta later told them that her striking resemblance to Marvel, from the 74th Games, was probably the reason for all of this. In the end, both Cinna and Peeta agreed with the plan but reminded them to keep their options open. With a bit of underlying resentment, Peeta told them, "Some things, aren't always going to be…what they seem."

:::

"_You head back towards the center and meet up with Beetee and them, I'll go find Finnick. Remember not to hit the boundaries and avoid the next hour!" My legs start to get weaker as I say that but worrying this girl right now would probably kill the both of us. She catches my legs buckle a bit and gives me one of those looks. "What did I tell you? Go! The hour will end soon!" She takes one last glance but eventually runs back toward the center, her braid swinging behind her. I sigh. "Sorry sweetheart"_

_I run, my legs already past the point of aching, while the girl back there runs to all the others, including Finnick. I gulp. If she found out what I was doing, I'm sure she'd kill me. I can feel the Capitol's many cameras changing the focus from me to her and I breathe a sigh of relief. I slow down a bit and turn to a different part of the clock. A billion different curses come to my mind when I hear the shifting of the territory. The Capitol just won't let up. I push my hair back and stop altogether. It was times like these where I wish I was that lucky baker boy sitting somewhere out there drinking some fine Capitol Tequila._

_I look at the ground a bit longer and notice the ground starting to shake. The ground cracks a bit and I look at the approaching fire. I take one step towards the boundary and the ground under my feet caves._

"_Hello, Haymitch."_

The lights are blinding and the bleached walls make it even harder to see. It feels like I drank a bit too much of the cheap and unsatisfying whiskey that they serve around here because my head hurts and I swear I could see stars. I blink and rip off the sheets, almost getting tangled back up in them.

As I start to fully wake up the dream I just had comes back to me along with what seems to be either a pang of guilt or a huge hangover. What do they put in this District 13 whiskey anyway? I grab my head and walk outside. On my forearm there's a huge blob of black ink and I realize those idiots had probably put my schedule on me while I was sleeping. It wasn't like I was going to follow it but they could at least tell a guy.

_12:30-13:00_, it read, _Family Time._ I laugh. "I'm free!" I head to Alma's office, prepared to watch whatever mess the doubles were in when I saw something I probably shouldn't have. "What in the…"

Peeking in through the door I could see unnaturally white hair and a hefty figure beneath it. I breathe in the smell of roses. Coin, what are you up to?

A guy walking by, probably following his schedule, notices me with my head practically shoved in through the door. "Uhh…" I struggle to find the words until I remember him. He was from the under-underground bar that all of us drunkards go without the constant supervision of Coin and the muscle she keeps around her.

"I think Coin is stopping the production of alcoholic drinks altogether after she heard about it going missing," I lie, "I was about to tell her I think some of these District Eight newbies stole it from the kitchen, just to keep the bar's secret going for a while." I rub my chin and notice the small stubbles growing out. "Do you mind asking for some more razors? I think I ran out."

He doesn't look like he believes me—I wouldn't either—but he goes anyway. I take another look into the room and the white-haired man is gone.

"What do you want Haymitch?" Coin doesn't look up from her work at all, but that's normal. I walk in, not really caring at this point if she saw me or not, because I know she did. I take a seat in front of her desk but she gets up quickly. "Leaving so soon, Alma?" She walks and I follow her out, already knowing where we're going.

Around thirty billion turns and twists later, we arrive at the planning room where many people are already waiting.

"I think it's time," a person in the room says. He motions towards the screen with his head and I take a look.

On screen, all I see are these kids' twins lined up in the nerve machine, waiting to get shipped to the arena. Beetee zooms in and I see that Cinna does a good job with prosthetics, I'll admit, but what I don't see is what this has to do with the master plan just yet. "Time for suicide? Time for Games? Time for food? Stop tying that string and get specific!"

He stops and straightens abruptly, his red hair flying at all sorts of angles. "Uh… Well, Spade is sort of on sedatives and I think Mar, along with the rest of the Capitol, is planning on killing him while he's out."

"That doesn't—" I try and interrupt but it seems the girl who never wants to shut up had even more to say, as if in the past few weeks she hasn't spoken enough.

"It isn't just that. Everybody in my district knows that when shooting anything I'll probably hit the person _behind_ me. This girl is way too good! Do they put you guys on steroids here? The only thing we had back in D6 was Morphling and that did nothing but diminish our chances of winning." She sighs. "She looks like me," she said, referring to the bloodshot eyes, yellowish skin, and unruly hair the apparent imposter was modeling, "but she doesn't act like me."

I still don't get it. I thought this was expected. They can't expect careers to come in and _not_ be good. These kids just don't get it. They were all so unsure and awkward, to say the least. "What about it? That blonde was never so bright anyway." I got a cold stare from "that blonde's" old district partner.

"We told them to let out early." I stop thinking of snappy comebacks to drench that kid in when I hear this. I turn to whichever kid said that and hope that he's a Morphling. What exactly were these people thinking? This accomplished nothing but giving these cowards more time to run. A colorful array of curses threaten to seep through my lips, but I bite them back. To think, I left a group supervised by Careers and past Victors inside a planning room where they could clearly see damage being done outside of this communist ridden hole, and instead of having them come up with a master plan they come up with a bowl of instant death.

I see Spade's friend, Gustopher I think, walking out from the ominously shadowy corner of the room, and I grab his shirt. These people need to drill into their heads what will happen if this goes through. "What are you thinking? They'll all die _faster_. What happened to you dragging me back to District 12 and begging Spade to be one of the others? Now you want _him_ to die with them?"

"Haymitch, I know you think this way—that this is certain death, but you have to trust us with this." Coin speaks up, for all of them apparently, because they all nod as she says this.

I'm in shock. Did they really think that what they were doing was good? I can't help but look at all of the kids in the room and back at the kids on screen. Ave was right. They were all carbon copies of each other but they weren't each other. I point at the screen. "You're all okay with letting these _kids_ die in your place? And for what? The fear that you'll all get found out and you will actually have to participate in the Games? The fear that not everything is going _exactly _the way you want?" The morons' breathing hitches. "Well here's a reality check, kiddies, _nothing_ ever goes the way you want it to." I can barely keep my voice from rising. I stop staring at them and exhale. I could hear them start to breathe normally again. "So disappointing," I mumble, "Here I was thinking this was for the rebellion."

I walk away, making sure my walk is agonizingly slow and each step echoes hopelessness. I hide the bitter laugh that seems to want to escape my lips when I feel them cringing behind me. I exit, but stay slipped behind the door to wait for them to start talking again.

A few minutes of silence passed until someone stands up. "I think," he pauses and I look through the door. "I think we should go on with having them reveal early." My hand makes contact with my forehead—quite forcefully. "We already told them to and I don't think we're running at all. In fact, having them do this will save them." What? _I_ don't think so. I feel like going back in there to teach this guy a lesson until another voice comes in.

"It's true!" I see all their heads snap in his direction. A boy of about 14 stood up and motions for Garner to sit down. "I've been watching the Game Makers," he claims, "or what little video they show us of them and I think they already know about," he gestures to Garner, Ave, himself, and the look-alikes on screen, "us. If wait any longer, they get killed without anyone knowing about us in the first place. The cause will die before we even start it. It might even have to wait another 76 years."

Good point. I walk back in then, clapping. I'll have to admit to them later that they have a point but I'm not quite finished. "Do what you please." I challenge, my voice still filled with as much doubt as I can muster, "but whatever happens, it's all on you."

"Gee, thanks." Says Ave, dripping with sarcasm. Even through her overworked and totally wrecked eyes I can see she, and some of the others, were slightly disappointed in my unwavering attitude towards the situation.

"You're welcome." I stand there, smiling quite triumphantly, and look around the room. Not that I needed to look at them to know they were glaring daggers poisoned with grim determination, I just wanted to. For the first time since we were all dragged here, I can start to picture them actually achieving something.

Finnick, sitting with Mags near the corner, looks almost as high and mighty as he did before everyone, especially Annie, thought he was dead. Marvel, Cash, Gloss, Brutus, and Enobaria all look up one by one, to give me their very similar Career death glares, mixed with a bit of resentful astonishment at what I said. I doubted them, sure, but it did them some real good. The last my eyes meet are the group who look as if they know they are right. Ave's bloodshot eyes focused in a way I never thought they could, and Fale stood with a confidence I'd bet my life his friends back in District 7 have never seen. Garner stands taller, towering over everyone else.

Gus looks at me, and with a Spade-esque smile he says, "We'll see about that. In the arena." His crooked smile grows wider and I put my hands up mockingly.

"Suddenly so set on this, are we?" Nobody smiles but me. "Whatever. Just seeing if you guys were up for the task." I walk out for real this time, slight smile still etched on my face. I head to the mess hall for some water to nurse the brain-busting hangover I've been ignoring since I had woken up until I hear a crash behind me. I try to turn around but my cursed old-man legs tangle and I hit the floor. The last thing I see are a pair of pointed shoes and a rugged burlap sack being pulled over my head.


	6. Chapter 5

The room spun and a pair of hands rapidly found Spade's pocket. The sedatives had lasted longer than expected and Portia struggled to keep the boy standing, let alone ready to face whatever mutts and surprises were in the arena.

"Take this and go! Find water, a knife, anything. Survive. Find allies. Find Garner! Go!" the same pair of hands that had seemed to be so warm and gentle while placing an alien object in Spade's pocket was now pushing him into a beautifully crafted tube that would bring him to a whole different kind of terror than what was ever unleashed in previous experiences.

The world had spun but a small patch of light came in through the top of the rising cylinder. Being unnaturally tall for a 12 year old, he started to see the outside already. What he found was to say the least, different.

There were patches of gray darker than others but the world he saw was still a blurry gray mess. The only immediate colored object he saw was the countdown clock, already at 23. He took a look after stirring to full consciousness and noticed Paige immediately.

She was across the field, almost blocked by the Cornucopia. Her fingers trembled the same way they would all the times he'd seen her nervous during the few weeks, or days rather, that he'd know her. Her blonde hair stuck to her face and the small pink ribbon that her best friend had given her was loosely attached to the end of her thin braid. She was sweating and the games hadn't even started. Spade would've tugged on her braid like he did when her chest would rise and fall as if she had run a mile in a minute, or when her heart would race like it was.

Or was it? She had been so far, it was impossible for him to have known that. So why had he been able to hear the thumping of his district partner's heart? Spade panicked and looked around. The arena was bleak and depressing, the tributes the only things he could see standing for what seemed like miles on end.

The clock was at 20 now, and Spade had realized it was _his _heart beating as fast—maybe faster—than Paige's when she would feel nervous. His head spun, his foot slipped and in a second, a foot, hand, then head, hit the floor. In that order.

There was a moment of silence, as if the world had seen that and was waiting for something. _Anything_.

_But_

_nothing_

_happened_

Paige's hands flew to her face and Garner took off. Dragging Spade with him, he ran all the way to the Cornucopia, dodging the deep trenches surrounding it. He tripped and cursed under his breath.

"What an," Spade coughed blood from the floor behind Garner's feet, "extensive vocabulary." He smiled crookedly. He started to spew more nonsense so Garner paused and laughed. He lifted Spade, with no resistance, and started to run again. From the corner of his eye he saw Ave and Fale start to move off their platforms. A panicked scream jostled its way out of his throat. "No!"

The two stopped, possibly too late. Quite unlike to what had happened to Spade, an ear drum-shattering explosion rang and spread throughout the entire arena. A flame that seemed to reach the top of the dome was shooting objects to places even farther than the eye could see.

The fire raged and inched closer and closer to the Cornucopia. Garner threw himself over Spade, who was still coughing and trying to talk. On the edge of his line of vision, Spade couldn't tell if what he was seeing was real or a fantasy, because a familiar figure was flying through the air. He motioned toward it with his hand and a yelp escaped his lips. Garner got off and cursed at the sight of Spade's burned hand, not minding at all that the fire licked at his own pants.

They ran into the Cornucopia, grabbing water, a few medical kits, and weapons of course. The sound of the timer that was still moving forward echoed through the metal structure and shook the supplies inside. Cannons sounded every few seconds; Garner lost track after 4.

A buzz shortly followed to signal the start of the Games. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to the 76th annual Hunger Games!" Claudius Templesmith's rich Capitol accent said this quite dramatically, hiding the sure chaos going on in the game makers' lab. In an instant the fire stopped, revealing the twenty children still cowering in fear on their platforms. The two in the Cornucopia emerged carrying bags filled with a majority of the things that once filled the area. None of the tributes attempted to grab anything, instead trying their luck at finding resources in the gray, barren plains that lay ahead.

Ave, who kneeled at Fale's side, ran after the retreating figures that didn't happen to see the dangers ahead of them. A few of them disappeared into the ground, shocking those around them to the point of stillness. Ave kept running and didn't like what she saw. A piercing scream shook the arena but Garner and Spade ran to Fale, lying unconsciously where the blast had taken him.

There were tangles of wire strewn around the ground messily. If one were to look closely, they would see the intricacy in the tangles, how strategically they were placed, _how_ _they moved_. Nobody was looking that close however, as most gathered around the pit where five bodies lay still or was escaping into the distance. If they had looked they would have seen the bags of sand piled up like walls inside the holes or the slim barrels of guns in the distance, lined up and ready for the kill.

By the pile of bodies stuck around ten feet below the ground, Ave tripped while inching back, looking more disturbed and disheveled than before. Some brave tributes who hadn't fallen into one of the many deep holes in the ground took a look inside too. Some held back their gasps or their last meals that were waiting to make reappearances and others let them be; only making the sight worse.

Inside the pit they could see the bodies, unconscious or already dead, with limbs sticking out at odd angles. Ave could see her district partner among the four or five below, a rat like creature the size of a cat already picking at his eyes. She shivered. Orel, who was behind her, ran back to Garner and Spade, who were still making use of the medicinal supplies they collected. Others tried to run like Orel but in the other direction until Ave spoke.

She pointed a twitching finger at all of them and warned them with as much venom as she could muster, "Run and you die. Like them." She didn't have to motion to the bodies in the pit for them to know she was talking about them. As if to emphasize her point, five cannons sounded and the creepy jerking of the bodies stopped entirely.

Orel came back with Garner and Spade in tow. They were each carrying one end of Fale. Spade got the feet and Garner was carefully holding his head. They put his limp body down gently by Ave's leather boots and backed away. Spade and Orel tried to say something but their words ended up tangling and they both just stopped.

Ave knelt down and left her unruly hair to create a curtain covering her face. Fale had a serious injury on his head, no doubt resulting in severe blood-loss. Ave checked repeatedly for his fading pulse until she found it to be non-existent. The cannon sounded. Ave jerked every few seconds and a few poorly concealed weeps escaped her lips.

"I don't get you. You didn't even cry for your own District partner. This," the owner of the voice, Mar, proceeded to nudge the limp figure's arm, "_stranger_ shouldn't mean anything to you."

Cascade came up behind him. "No, he shouldn't. In fact, after the training, I thought about it, and it hit me." She laughed, not at them, but jokingly to herself. "It's funny how I didn't see it before but I know your little secret. All of you." She glanced knowingly at Garner and back to Ave.

"Mmhmm. I knew too," Mar agreed.

"After I told you." Cascade mumbled. A look of pretend hurt crossed Mar's face and Cascade smiled.

Ave interrupted, shaking them out of the moment. "I don't know what you're talking about. If you're talking about Morphling I think everyone knew. Do you want some too? I sell it by the quart." A forced smirk made its way to her lips.

Cascade whispered to Mar, quite obviously, earning a glare from Ave, to which Cascade smiled and said hi. The two ended up laughing, which ended in awkward coughing after another vicious stare form Ave. The other tributes were still there, watching as if it were a show.

"Would you like me to continue?" Cascade looked at each tribute for a fleeting moment and showed them anyway, though none of them had expected it.

:::

Peeta's jaw dropped. In a way he had seen it coming. The familiar looks, unnatural skill, over-familiarity with each other, and ways they were described by Spade were all tell-tale signs of this chaos on screen. Katniss looked at him, almost as awestruck, and returned her gaze back at the screen. Her hands lunged for him, and more specifically his neck, a move he averted quickly and expertly. What he didn't catch was her falling into him, grabbing at his shirt miserably. He patted her back and kissed the top of her head.

She pulled away from him and turned back to watch like the other sponsors in the room. "I think he's alive," she said, "and I think she is too."

Peeta backed away for a moment, perhaps scared if she knew the ugly truth that lay beyond the picture of hope she would sink back into the shell she was in before. From what he could remember, which was a lot, she was the living dead. Her once lively and aware, calculating grey eyes were dull and empty, almost as much as her stomach when she started refusing meals. The coldness to her was new and different from what he knew; no longer hiding feelings, just emptying her heart completely. It was a bad time, and though he knew a lie much like this one had started it, he was more afraid that it was the truth this time that would trigger it.

Out of her trance, Katniss whirled in front of Peeta who was still thinking. She saw the worry on his face and came closer. As soon as he noticed her coming, he relaxed.

"What's…" she had meant to ask what was wrong but from the face he was making she said something completely different. "What're you hiding?" Her face darkened.

Peeta, being the smooth-talker he was, began with a slight stutter. "W-well," he scratched the back of his head and started with a line he knew would calm her down. "I think…This is your fault." She looked at him, confused at unusually rude words. "You still have no idea. The effect you can have." She was left with her jaw unclenched and dangling as Peeta dropped a cheese bun in her lap and walked away, telling her he had some out-of-District Sponsors he had to call.

He boarded a shuttle to the far end of town, near the neighborhoods that were covered in shadows on the sunniest of days and walked into a local bar. He wasn't lying entirely; he _was_ making a phone call to a "supporter" outside of the Capitol. Just not the typical one. He walked to the far corner of the establishment to the public phone and dialed a number he memorized long before. He waited three rings for somebody to pick up.

A brusque voice came in with a lot of outdated static. "What?"

Peeta sighed in relief. "Haymitch? It's me." There was a pause. "It's time."


End file.
